Movie Review: The Road

Kim Brown - Tulsa World

"The Road" could be the best movie you don't see in the movie theater this year.

Director John Hillcoat's fine adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's award-winning novel is desperate and beautiful. A story of apocalyptic aftermath might not sound like the ideal movie experience, but it is most worthy of a trip to the multiplex, anyway.

Fans of McCarthy's novel might have wondered how his minimalist technique and sparse language would translate to the big screen. His two-word sentences, scattered punctuation and stripped prose fit perfectly with the book's eerie tone, and Joe Penhall expertly translates it to the screen.

Viggo Mortensen gives a masterful performance as the Man, the story's central character. The world has gone to ashes overnight, leaving only gray skies and little life. His only mission is to protect his Boy, played by the equally worthy Kodi Smit-McPhee. Together, they push their broken down shopping cart through the woods, chilled to the bone, searching for food.

You can feel the Man's freezing, soggy socks as he strips them off by their fire. You can see the Boy's teeth chattering, and you realize they've been at this for a long time -- years, in fact.

The Man sees his wife, the Woman (Charlize Theron), only in his dreams and colorful flashbacks. She's not in the woods with them in the present, and we eventually learn why.

Those who need a specific answer about What Happened will not be satisfied. McCarthy knew that when the world burns, you no longer have

minute-by-minute news access. You do like the Man does when he hears a deep boom -- you fill the bathtub and board up the windows.

The Man and Boy slog through the woods, down a littered highway heading "to the South," armed with only a handgun with two bullets and a source of fire.

Hillcoat brings out so much humanity in the characters that it is impossible not to ache for their situation.

The Man has to tell the Boy how to do the unthinkable if he needs to -- they know what will happen if the bad people find them. The Boy desperately needs to know that they aren't the bad guys, that they will never resort to hunting humans like the monsters they fear.

Mortensen is so dedicated to his son -- and to his character -- that you can imagine what he's going through. A scene when the Man bathes the Boy in a stream is hard to watch because you can practically feel the freezing water as Smit-McPhee is sobbing.

They both long for the Woman -- who decides to take control of her own fate because "other families are doing it." But the Man doesn't believe in the easy way out. He's not a hero, just a man protecting his child until the end.

An important element in this adaptation of "The Road" is the sound, which Hillcoat adds to this experience. The remaining trees fall thunderously to the ground, the earth settles with a disturbing rumble, and the sound of an engine means trouble. These sounds, against Hillcoat's sharp, deserted landscapes add that something extra that you can only experience at the movies.

Considering the disturbing subject and the pressure of adapting a Pulizer Prize-winning novel, "The Road's" filmmakers gracefully tell McCarthy's story, avoiding the urge to use too much sentiment.

But more importantly, the characters stay with you thanks to remarkable performances and careful consideration of the text. While "The Road" might not be a happy experience, it's a meaningful one. It's worth the trip.

The Road

Stars: Viggo Mortensen, Kodi Smit- McPhee, Charlize Theron

Theaters: AMC Southroads 20

Running time: 1 hour, 51 minutes

Rated: R (some violence, disturbing images and language)

Quality: (on a scale of zero to four stars)

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